Delinius
The Inquiring Heir |relatives=Kataphorus Leroy Langton (earliest known ancestor) Antacitus Devon Langton (great-grandfather) Agatha Selena Langton (grandmother) Caldeus Philip Langton (father) Mara Langton (mother) Ina Sybil Langton (sister) Maltus Chuck Langton (cousin) Lyka Westwood (life partner) Helena Julie Langton (daughter) Katherine Lucy Langton (daughter) |affiliation=Isles & Quint, Neo-Chippers (Beta timeline), Sunrise Industries (Gamma timeline) |gender=Male (he/him) |birthplace=Faeric, Ludus |species=Gridmask / Soul Flame (?) |height=Somewhat tall |weight=Roughly average, slightly lightweight |accentcolor=fd7306 }} Background Info Delinius is the second child of Caldeus Philip Langton and Mara Langton, and the younger brother of Ina. He was born in -202 A.E.Q. Delinius grew up in an extended family, including several aunts and uncles with their families. His grandmother Agatha also lived with them in the hills in the northwest of Faeric. Circumstances around Delinius' birth were not notably strange, although the rain passing over the family's house did clear shortly after his birth. Some interpreted this as a good sign, though most would come to pass it off as coincidence rather than some kind of divine signal. Delinius showed quite some talent for magic at an early age, something that his parents encouraged him to develop at his own pace. In the meantime, he frequently explored the surrounding hills of Faeric together with his sister Ina as well as some of their cousins. Agatha took upon her the role of a mentor towards her grandson during his upbringing, particularly regarding the study and practice of magic in all its forms. Under her watchful eye, Delinius acquired as much knowledge about subjects both magical and mundane as she deemed necessary at this early age. The events later recorded as the Nazcan War or Nazcan Invasion occurred around the time that Delinius was barely 12 years. Rather than trying to stay safe the best he could, he insisted on aiding in the effort against the Nazcan threat. For unclear reasons, his request was granted by Agatha, and he was provided some weaponry specially built to his smaller size and strength. Throughout the period of conflict, Delinius discovered much about the limits to his cunning. In fighting the invader, he also discovered new ways through which he could manifest his magic. In -187 A.E.Q. Ludus was liberated from its hostile invasion by a group of witches, ending the Nazcan War. Some time after the end of the Nazcan War, Delinius was invited to a party in a nearby community to celebrate the defeat of the hivemind threat. Many users of magic of all kinds were said to partake as well. Several aspiring magicians engaged in an experiment, including Delinius. Three of the party's attendants were vaporised, while Delinius avoided this fate, by luck or intuition. In addition, an intense ray of sunlight pierced the roof of the building where the party was held, briefly illuminating him. Those present were shocked, thinking that this was a divine sign from the deity Dwin. Delinius returned home without a word. While Delinius was physically unchanged, he seemed to have gone through a mental transformation of sorts. He dedicated much of his time studying old literature, with little other activities outside that. While Delinius' father Caldeus saw in this a hefty increase in devotion - much to his approval - there was some discussion among the rest of the family about the true nature of this change. In -183 A.E.Q., Delinius left his home after a heated debate with his father Caldeus and several more family members, travelling across mainland Ludus to an area to the north of a large desert. Here he found work in the form of gathering sources of food, whether through hunting wild creatures or gathering from plants. Especially the former was a great success and brought him a little fame around the area. Several months later, in -182 A.E.Q., swarms of Ludusian monsters of many kinds began to harass local communities for unclear reasons. After a series of misunderstandings, Delinius was considered to be involved with the unusual circumstances and was subsequently driven away. For many years, he was chased by misinformed Gridmasks who believed that he had summoned some or all of the monsters. This period cultivated a deeply rooted distrust of common Gridmasks with Delinius, but also provided him with extensive combat practice and experience in a variety of skills. After a long time, a campaign began in order to end the distrust against magic. While this did diminish the oppression of and hostility against the use of magic, a strong tradition against Delinius personally remained unaffected, forcing him to flee from a gathering of this campaign. Ultimately, Delinius fled Gredile and travelled across the sea based on rumours of a continent named Auzos, making use of auric wings that he had learned to create and use properly. After safely arriving, he found work in delivering packages thanks to his ability to travel by air. While doing so, more people arrived on the continent, seeking refuge from the monsters that ran rampant on Gredile and Oktov. Unlike Delinius, many did not find means of sustaining themselves. The residents of Auzos did not take pity upon them very much either, possibly due to the number of Gridmasks that were appearing in a short time, a species that had so far been a minority on the continent. After some time, Delinius began an initiative to house these refugees and to teach them the means to find work, which came to be dubbed "Langton Incorporated". During this time, he met a Gridmask named Lyka Westwood, who had discovered an ageless state quite like his own, and the two built up a bond over the years. Most timelines= The initiative thrived for some time, until an altercation with residents of Auzos drove Delinius from the continent. Lyka followed soon after, leaving the fate of the organisation unknown. Delinius encountered little resistance to his return after such a long time, although many rumours had developed into myth around that time. |-| Beta= Rather than join Delinius soon after his return to mainland Gredile, Lyka remained on Auzos for some time until suitable successors were found; after arranging this, she travelled back to Gredile in search of Delinius. |-| Gamma= The initiative thrived for an extensive time period, during which it became more than a mere housing for those who had fled Gredile and Oktov. As tensions grew, however, Delinius elected to evacuate its residents back once he learned that it was perfectly safe to do so. On this timeline, he came into conflict with IQ and its associates and never established much of a connection to it, raising his own industrial business instead. Upon returning to Gredile, Delinius found that his infamy had begun to live a life of its own, resulting in both more fantastic and more mild stories. Appearance and Personality Delinius' hair was originally dark brown, which later turned to a more reddish brown colour over the years in the aftermath of a magic-related accident. It remains fairly tidy despite the fact that he does very little about it; it tends to hang just above or across his shoulders and springs up towards the back a bit as well. He stands quite tall with a build that is slightly thin for his length. Delinius tends to dress in warm colours like red and orange, though yellow, brown or black occasionally appear in his wardrobe as well. Most of his apparel looks to be built to withstand wear and tear well, but overall looks to be more stylish than mere work clothing. There is a long red and brown coat that Delinius wears particularly often, with a broad collar that can fold over a large cloak he usually wears. In turn, this cloak drapes over the broad strap of a shoulder bag that is on his person at all times. A strong piece of leather has been attached with several loops of cloth on one side and three round pockets on the other. These pockets contain bottles of an unidentified liquid. Delinius holds himself to a high standard in everything that he does, something that seems to have been part of his upbringing and early life. With a natural talent for convincing speech and picking up subtle details that others might overlook, he is quite perceptive and tactful, able to tread around sensitive topics and at the same time see through the deception of others. This perceptive nature has made him somewhat distant or even distrustful towards unfamiliar individuals, but once he believes that they harbour no ill intent, Delinius is quite amiable, if eccentric. He can be quite protective of his social circle, sometimes more than is necessary, but overall Delinius is a pleasant individual to be acquainted with. Delinius has some mannerisms and word choices that appear odd or dated now and then, something to be attributed to his upbringing, place of birth and relative age. He is noted to have a distinctly different accent as well. Relationships Family circle Delinius keeps very close to what little relatives remain alive. He has a close bond with his sister Ina, who is the only person from his childhood to remain with him. The two often share stories from various periods of their lives and discuss old family matters as far as they can remember them. In turn, Ina holds her brother very dear, even though the siblings occasionally disagree on questions of morality. A different story is Delinius' cousin Maltus, on those timelines where the latter handles unstable time magic to escape execution. Some amount of tension remains between the two over issues from the past, though for the most part their interaction is polite and sometimes a little friendlier. Maltus sees his younger cousin as a noisy but ultimately wise relative whom he respects. Lyka and Delinius are rarely found apart for extended periods of time, and on those timelines where they manage to reunite, they share much of their view on the world and think very similarly. While they do have their disagreements now and then, they're about as happy as any Gridmask couple would be. Delinius seems to trust Lyka as much as or perhaps even more than his sister. While Delinius gets along very well with Helena, the two can strongly disagree on a number of matters, which frequently results in heated debates. They do tend to put their differences aside very quickly and Delinius enjoys a training match against her every now and then. He is quite proud to see her excel in axe-based combat more than himself - even if her habits and world view starkly differ from his own here and there. His relationship to Katherine is more difficult. Katherine's generally reclusive personality makes meaningful communication difficult, although Delinius knows his daughter well enough to poke through her elusive behaviour, something that appears to irk her to no end. Despite these factors, Katherine does show that she appreciates her father's concern on occasion, and it appears that she is better able to grasp the motivation behind his actions than the rest of the family. Isles & Quint Generally speaking, Delinius has good contact with his colleagues at I&Q to varying degrees: with some of them he only interacts incidentally, with others he has conversations frequently. He keeps a good eye on Baxter, as he's more aware of the man's past schemes than most in the company. Despite this knowledge, Delinius respects him as much as anyone else, and the two can work together surprisingly well. While they do not interact much outside of business hours, Delinius' attitude towards Baxter is quite amiable and friendly, if a little fun-poking at times. Delinius generally does not interact much with Revelian; this is not regarded as unusual by either of them. The two seem to have a somewhat volatile personality in common, leaving them ill-suited to be in close proximity to each other for extended periods of time. Delinius does respect Revelian as a colleague in Isles & Quint in a professional manner. The interaction between Delinius and Zachary is mostly limited to business talk, though they are far from unfriendly. Delinius seems to hold some sympathy for the large reptilian, recognising the feeling of being 'out of place' in a society predominantly populated by distrustful Gridmasks. If the two do hold a conversation outside a professional context, Delinius may occasionally bring it up for discussion. Similarly, Delinius does not get to talk to Hankvi often, though this is mostly attributed to the latter's incredible work ethic. He does, however, consider Hankvi the most respectable worker of Isles & Quint, and Hankvi seems to appreciate Delinius despite the latter's very different personality, a personality that appears to slightly intimidate him. Samuel does not meet Delinius very often, but on the occasion they do interact the two seem to get along very well. Some amount of banter persists between them even during working hours, and Delinius finds the Splationian to be very good for improving the overall mood at work. Samuel holds similar beliefs about Delinius, though he might have some questions about some of the old man's mysterious habits. Delinius has limited contact with other associates around the company, but is generally on good terms with Kwik and Mori. Delinius is aware of Mori's ties to Zaion, which he has used to learn about the Book of Shadows. Skills and Abilities *Delinius excels in combat using axes, axe-like weapons and bows, and can use his surroundings to put himself at an advantage against opponents. *He has been raised with extensive knowledge of and practice in many forms of magic, from simple elemental magic to complicated illusions. **False Wings - Capable of creating functional wings out of an aura-like substance, granting long-distance flight. **Elemental Magic - Fire and light; several more to lesser degrees. **Knowledge Manipulation - Capable of creating and altering information, including other people's perception. Capable of learning minor information about individuals that is not readily apparent. *Delinius' general knowledge about Ludus is well above average, if not very good, compared to the average Ludusian. *He is quite eloquent and can use this in order to convince others to comply with his wishes. *Thanks to his mythological weight, Delinius may convince Dwineans to take actions to his benefit, making him somewhat powerful in an unofficial capacity. Traits and Equipment Traits *Dwineage **Lux' Empowerment - Is healed by sunlight, fire and warm temperatures. Increased vulnerability to cold temperatures as well as weather phenomena like rain or snow. **Sun's Safety - Requires sufficient sunlight to remain healthy, but capable of living significantly longer than typical Gridmasks. **Dwin's Gift - Increased talent for practising forms of magic. *Soul Flame (? We gotta sort this out.) - Greatly prolonged or possibly infinite lifespan through a lack of biological ageing. Equipment *'Phoenix' battleaxe - Double-edged axe weapon that can light on fire whatever it hits. *'Sunny Day' double axe - Lightweight axe with unclear magical properties. *'Thunderous Smasher' hatchet - Short axe weapon that shocks its targets. *'Daysight' bow - Simple bow that requires less strength to draw. *Hades Harbinger - A three-in-one weapon and tool that combines a triple crossbow, flamethrower and axe blade. *Phlogistomantic Enforcer - Advanced prototype weapon that fires small explosives from several rotating tubes. *Lightbringer - Prototype energy weapon that fires beams of focused light. *Navigation Tablet - Small stone tablet inscribed with runes of some kind. Grants the holder the ability to displace themselves and any items they are in contact with. *Delinius' Journal - Enchanted journal that allows Delinius' mind to process the effects of an extended life span. Trivia *Delinius is sometimes called by his second name, something that aggravates him very much. *His aura has a distinct scent of . *Having been born before the first war with the Nazcans, Delinius has great historical knowledge, though he rarely shows to possess it. He does sometimes imply that he has some knowledge about the past of certain other characters he meets. *Apparently, Delinius forgets to speak Common when highly tired or drunk. During this, he will speak as many as four or five different languages, all of which cannot seem to be understood and are called 'Latin', despite the fact that no such language exists on Ludus. *Delinius' favourite foods are supposedly burritos and sandwiches, both usually with spicy sauce. Gallery Ludusian Greeting 02.png|Delinius depicted together with Lyka, uploaded by Fire InThe Hole Delinius Full.png|Full depiction of Delinius by ZoshiX